Since the onset of the downturn in 2014 it has been a pretty bleak few years for the offshore sector, with the occasional chinks of light on the horizon often quickly clouded over. More recently there have been indications that things might be clearing up a little and so sentiment has improved somewhat. But it is worth recalling just how low the barometer has sunk in order to put these things in perspective.

Plagued by constant blackouts and power shortages, Egypt appears to be facing its worst energy crisis in decades. However, following the historic discovery of the giant gas field Zohr offshore Egypt in August this year and revived interest from IOCs, it seems that the tables are set to turn. Indeed, after a period of gas production decline, Egypt’s energy outlook is getting increasingly bright.

Slide Down The Gas Pyramid

Until recently, Egypt’s gas production story had been one of growth: production climbed from 1.68 to 5.76 bn cfd between 2000-2009 and in 2003, it was sufficient to kick-start LNG exports. However, a combination of political unrest (notably the Arab Spring of 2011) and rising population has resulted in natural gas supply shortages over the last 5 years. Domestic gas demand has on average grown by 8% y-o-y, eventually outstripping supply. As a result, Egypt has been forced to re-route LNG destined for exports to domestic consumption. Indeed, at the start of 2014, BG announced it was breaking its contracts because it was unable to export enough gas. This year, Egypt resorted to importing LNG from Qatar – a bitter moment for the previous exporter.

Enter Zohr

They say that when you hit bottom, the only way is up and for Egypt, this seems to be the case. Earlier this year, ENI made what is believed to be the largest ever gas discovery in the Mediterranean, named Zohr. The field is part of the Levantine Basin, home to other prolific gas finds such as the Israeli Leviathan field. ENI puts the find down to different use of sequencing models, concentrating on carbonate rather than classical sand reservoirs. The gas giant (estimated to hold 30 tcf of lean gas) is located in water depths of 1,450m, providing an exciting departure from typical shallow exploration of mature basins in the region. Additionally, BP announced a $12 billion investment in Egypt’s West Nile Delta project: another deepwater discovery with 5 tcf of gas resources. A move to deeper waters creates opportunity for subsea development, the current production solution of choice in all of the country’s active deepwater fields. Out of the 68 active subsea units in Egypt, 40 are operated by ENI and 8 by BP. It is likely that these operators will continue to implement subsea development in their future projects.

Clash Of The Giants

Elsewhere, the discovery of Zohr was not such welcome news. There were plans to import gas via a pipeline from the Tamar field and (once in production) the competing gas giant, Leviathan, in Israel. Plans for the Leviathan field will now have to be redrawn and potentially accelerated if Israel wants a claim of the region’s LNG exports. However, following extensive regulatory and anti-trust objections, its start-up date remains uncertain.

Nevertheless, it is clear that Egypt’s fortunes are turning. The Zohr discovery, alongside other scheduled start-ups, will strengthen Egypt’s energy balance in the long-term. And the story does not end here: it has been reported that there are 7 other deepwater blocks with similar lithology to ENI’s. There is evidently a revived interest in the Levantine basin, as IOCs begin to wonder where the next giant could be hiding.